Process and apparatus for the continuous production of sheet-glass.



PATENTED JAN- 7. 1908. I. W. GOLBURN & E. WASHBURN. PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR THE CONTINUOUS PRODUCTION OF SHEET GLASS.

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I. W. COLBURN & E. WASHB PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR THE CONTINUOUS PRODUCTION OF SHEET GLASS.

APPLIO TION FILED DEO.28,1904.

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@JM 7AM WITNESS No. 876,267. PATBNTED JAN. 7. 1908. I. W. OOLBURN & E. WASHBURN.

PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR THE CONTINUOUS PRODUCTION OF SHEET GLASS.

APPLICATION FILED DBO. 28.1904.

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No. 876,267. PATENTED JAN. '7, 1908. I. COLBURN &"E. WASHBURN. PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR THE CONTINUOUS PRODUCTION OF SHEET GLASS APPLICATION FILED D .2B,190

BO 4 10 SHEETS-SHEET 6.

INVENTCIFI E:

A TDFrNEYE No. 876,267. PATENTED JAN. 7.190s. I. w. COLBURN & E. WASHBURN.

PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR THE CONTINUOUS PRODUCTION OF SHEET GLASS.

APPLICATION FILED DBO.2B.1904.

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PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR THE CONTINUOUS PRODUCTION OF SHEET GLASS.

APPLICATION FILED 1050.28. 1904.

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INVENTDH'S W35 5 @M M TEA/ A TEJFNEYE' No. 876,267. PATENTED JAN. '7, 1908. I. W. GOLBURN & E. WASHBURN.

PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR THE CONTINUOUS PRODUCTION OF SHEET GLASS.

P I T N I D .28,1904. A PL GA IO F LE DB0 10 SHBETS$HEBT 9.

INVENTUHS WIINESSES %,@L1&4MM BY 7 m; A TmFewl-tvs PATENTED JAN. 7, 1908. I. W. COLBURN & E. WASHBURN. PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR THE CONTINUOUS PRODUCTION OF SHEET GLASS.

APPLICATION FILED DEO.28,1904.

10 SHEETS-SHEET 10.

A lNl/ENTUPE 1 7 BY M UFHNEYE W/TNEESES W W A UNITED STATES PATENT oEEioE.

IRVING W. COLBURN AND EDGAR WASI-IBURN, OF FRANKLIN, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNORS,

BY DIRECT AND MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO COLBURN MACHINE GLASS COMPANY, OF FRANKLIN, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR THE CONTINUOUS PRODUCTION OF SHEET-GLASS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. '7, 1908.

Application filed December 28. 1904:. Serial No. 238,592-

To all whom "it may concern:

Be it known that we, IRVING W. COLBURN and EDGAR I/VAsnBURN, residents of Franklin, Pennsylvania, have invented a new and use- .ful Process and Apparatus for the Continuof substantially uniform width, may be con- 1 tinuously drawn from a mass of molten glass, severed into sections of suitable size, and, if desired, then flattened and subsequently anncale l, after-which it may be cut up into desired sizes for the market.

Many efforts have heretofore been made to continuouslydraw a sheet of glass fronra molten 'nass, but without practical commercial success. When an effort is made to dra w glass in sheet form from a molten mass, while th glass at the starting of the operation may emerge from the molten mass in the form of a sheet. it speedily narrows until it becomes a mere rope or thread, and for this reason, in the commercial production of sheet glass, it has been ommon to produce cylinders of glass which were subsequently split, and after being softened by heat, spread out and flattened by some suitable flattening device provided for the. purpose.

By the present invention it is for the first time rendered conm'icrcially practicable to continuously produce sheet glass which shall have a fine finish, be free from flaws or irregularities, and of substantially uniform width. According to the present invention the glass is preferably drawn from a continuous melting tank vor furnace, preferably of considerable length, into which the batch and cullet arefrequently fed, tothe end that the work 'ing surface of the in the furnace may be maintained approximately constant. As the glass is subjected to heat and advances along the melting furnace or tank, it is'gradually settled, reti ned and purified and brought to approximately the proper condition for drawing the glass therefrom. Preferably there is provided in the end of said working furnace or tank any suitable working chamber into which the molten glass is led and wherein it is protected from the fire of the main furnace, and within which it may be subjected to burners or other forms of heat for the purpose of bringing it into the desired condition for the drawing operation. In this drawing operation any suitable means, as any desired form of bait, is employed to start the sheet, the bait beit leaves the surface thereof drawing a sheet of glass therefrom, in a manner that will be well understood by those skilled in the art.

Simultaneously with the movement of the l bait away from the surface of the molten mass of glass, movement is imparted to the surface of the molten mass at the points the molten mass, the movement at these two points being in opposite directions and outward or away from the medial line of the sheet being drawn. Any suitable means may be employed for imparting this movement in opposite directions to the surface of the molten mass adjacent 'to the edges. Preferaldy there are i'nnncrsed, either partially or wholly below the surface of the molten glass, suitable bodies which are slowly revolved in opposite directions so that and their upper sides move outward or away from the center ofthe sheet. The effect of this slow revolving m or cment of the immersed or partially immersed bodies is to impart a like movement to the molten glass in immediate contact with or proximity thereto, thereby counteracting the tendency of the sheet to narrow or pull to a thread or string during the drawing operation. Any suitable form may be given to the revolving bodies before mertioned. They may be in the form of spheres, hemispheres, cones or otherwise, and the same may be wholly im mersed below the surface of the mass of molten glass or, as in the ease of conical bodies, they may be so positioned in the mass that the surface of the cone may be partially below the surface of the molten glass, and partially in contact with the surface of the sheet as the latter emerges from the molten mass, as setforth in our U. S. application Sr. No. 208, 941, filed May 20, 1904. Means are provided for positioning the revolving bodies where the edges of the sheet of glass leave ing withdrawn from the molten mass, and as I the adjacent or inner sides move upward set, but while still very hot is passed upwardly,

in the mass of molten glass so that they may be immersed to a greater or less extent as occasion -may require. 4

The sheet of glass having been drawn from a molten mass and of uniform width, is then permitted to cool sufiiciently to cause it to preferably in a vertical direction, into a eating chamber wherein it is subjected to heat and is bent from its substantially vertical position to an approximately horizontal position, and passed onto a suitable carrier. In order that the glass may be thus bent, means'are provided in the form of a revolving surface over which the sheet of glass is bent, and it is important at the time when the sheet passes over said revolving surface (here I taehed to the bait as above described, and

the bait is drawn upward and'over the-roller or drum and through the heating chamber in which the said roller or drum is located,

onto a carrier in said chamber, the carrier and bait moving at the same speed, and as the sheet emerges from the chamber the baitis severed from the sheet and is not used in.

the subsequent o erations. For the pur pose of efiecting t e feed of glass after the bait is severed therefrom, feeding devices are provided, preferably acting in conjunction with the carrier in the heating chamber above mentioned. The glass in this charm ber becomes more or less flexible and the feed device herein shown takes the form of a series of grip bars carried by endless sprocket chains, which grip bars at intervals are pressed down upon the surface of the sheet of glass, holding the sheet between said grips and the table or carrier, and as the grips advance, drawing the sheet with them. The grips just mentioned produce a marring effect in a line across the sheet, but this is unimportant since, as will appear herein- I after, the sheet of glass is separated into sections at the points where this inarring has occurred.

The glass having been rendered more or less plastic as it leaves the heating chamber just mentioned, is then scored or otherwise cut for the ,purpose of separating the sheet into sections at the desiredpoints. For the purpose of effecting this scoring, means are provided whereby the sheet of plastic glass 1s compressed along the desired line between a pair of scoring devices immediately after it asses from the heating chamber, and while it is in a more orless plastic condition. The glass having been thus scored is immediately passed into a second; chamber whose temperature is somewhat lower than that of the first or heating chamber, the two chambers there is no danger of shattering the glass by sudden exposure to chill, as it passes from one to the other. In this second chamber the temperature of the sheet is sufficiently lowered so that when a glass-handlers fork is inserted beneaththe' end section and the same slightly tilted or lifted, the section cracks or breaks away from the advancing sheet. The glass at this point will be foun to possess a very fine fire finish, and to be almost perfectly fiat, and if desired may be cut into marketable sizes. It is preferred, however, for the purpose of entirely eliminating every trace of unevenness in the sheet, to subject it 'to a flattening operation and subsequently it may be annealed. For this purposethe severed section of glass is passed into any suitable flattening oven provided with the usual flattening stones, and rubbed with rubbing blocks of bass-woodor other suitable material, and as it emerges from the flattening oven it is advanced to the annealing leer which may be of the usual or any suitable construction, and as it emerges from the leer it is received by workmen who wash and cut-it up into commercial sizes for the market.

Many of the features of the invention may being placed in such close juxtaposition that 4 some of those which are non-essential may be omitted without departing from the spirit of the invention, though such omission may to a greater or less extent aflect the quality of the product. Moreover, the apparatus portion of the invention is capable of receiving various mechanical expressions without departing from the spirit of the invention itself; and, for the purpose of describing the invention, there is illustrated in the accompanying drawings the preferred forms of apparatus, in which drawings Figure 1 is a side elevation of the apparatus employed; Fig. 2 is a front elevation thereof on the line A-B, Fig. 1, showing the melting furnace in vertical section; Fig. 3 is ,a side elevation on the opposite side from Fig. 1 Fig. 4 is a vertical section on the line IJ of Fig. 2, and KK of Fig. 8. This view shows the feed apparatus and the apparatus controlling the movement of the bodies revolving beneath the surface of the molten glass, and which will hereinafter be designated .the lateral feed rolls; Fig. 5 is a vertical longitudinal section on the line IJ of Fig. 2, and K -K, Fig. 8, and-illustrates the position. of the cutters or scorers and the relation of the carrier table to the the line GH of Fig. 1 Fig. 9 is a continuation of Fig. 8, showing the flattening stones with their relation to the carrier of the separatingchamber, and also their relation to the annealing or cooling leer; Figs. and 11 are elevational details showing the ap- 1Elaratus controlling the cutters or scorers; ig. 12 is a perspective View with the melting furnace or tank in section on the line M-M of Fig. 3 Figs. 13 and 14 show two forms which the lateral feed rolls may have; Fig.

15 is one form of cutter or scorer which may be employed, another form being shown in the other figures of the drawings, and more particularly in Fig. 7; Figs. 16 and 17 illustrate different forms of baits which may be employed in drawing the sheet, still another form being illustrated in the main figures of the drawing.

Referring to the drawings, and particu larly to Figs. 1 and 3, 1 is a melting furnace of any suitable or usual construction; 2 is a heating chamber adjacent to, but somewhat above, the working end of the melting furnace 1; 3 is a chamber separated from but adjacent to the heating chamber 2; 4 is a flattening furnace; and 5 is an annealing or cooling leer; said chambers, furnace and leer being arranged adjacent to each other in the order named. For convenience in working the apparatus, the glass melting tank 1 is on a level 6, while said chambers,

, flattening furnace and leer are on a higher level 7, the two levels being reached by a series of steps 8.

The .mass ofplastic glass contained in the conveniently meltin tankor furnace 1 passes preferably Referring to Figs.

from the main portion of the tank into a working chamber 10, partitioned off from the main body of the tank by partitions 11 retained in place by lugs 12-12 depending from the'body orcov'er-of the melting tank or furnace 1, as will be clearly understood by reference to Fig. 4. The main body of the molten glass 9 in the tank 1 communicates in any suitable way with the working chamber 10, preferably by means of suitable openings 13-13 formed in the partition walls constituting the sides of the'working chamber 10. As here shown these openings 13 are at the lower part of the melting furnace or tank, though they may be at any desired position in the partitions 11. The melting tank or furnace 1 is entirely covered, and a long narrow slot- 125, Fig. 4, is formed in said cover over the working chamber 10, portions of the cover extending in theform of lips.1414 toward each other from the tops of the parti tions 11 11 of the working chamber or pot. 2, 4 and 12, 15-15 are a pair of revolving bodies, here shown in the form of spheres of refractory material, which bodies constitute the lateral feed rolls for imparting the upward and outward movement to the molten glass in the tank 1 adjacent to worm the direction indicated by the arrows in Fig.

2, and for the purpose of imparting the said revolutionsto these rolls the shanks of said rolls are inclined upwardly and outwardly from the mass of molten glass in the working chamber, and have any suitable power applied to them. As here shown, these shanks are engaged by clamps 16, Fig. 4, whereby they are secured to shafts 22 having thereon The worm gears 21 are in mesh with right and left worms 20, see Fig. 12, secured on a shaft 19 turning in suitable bearings supported by an angle beam 32 carried on arms or brackets 33 projecting from the wall of the furnace. The shaft 19 is driven by a sprocket chain 17 passing over a sprocket wheel 18 on said shaft, said sprocket chain receiving movement from the main driving shaft of the machine through connectionswhich will be hereinafter described.

In order to determine the exact position of the lateral feed rolls 15 within the molten glass of the working chamber, means are provided for elevating or lowering the driven shafts of said rolls and with them the mechanism for imparting motion thereto. This elevating and depress'ing means will be best understood from an inspection of Figs. 4 and 12. The bearings 23 for the shafts 22 which drive the lateral feed rolls 15 are each mounted to turn loosely around the shaft 19, as will be clearly seen in Fig. 12, and above said shaft 19 is a hand wheel 24 on a shaft 25' gears 21 and turning in bearings 23.

is an arm 30, to theouter end of which is atl tached a depending link 31 secured to the bearings 23 of the shaft 22. It will be understood that there is a crank wheel and connected parts for each of the bearings 23 (see Fig. 8). By revolving the respective crank wheels 24, the bearings 23 and with them the lower ends of the shafts 22 may be independently elevated or lowered, as desired, thereby enabling the workman to position the lateral feed rolls 15, as he may desire, in the surface portion of the'molten glass in the working chamber.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 3, 34 is the main driving sh aft from which the power for moving the apparatus is drawn, said driving shaft receiving motion from any suitable source of power. The driving shaft 34 is connected to shafts 35, 36, 37 and 74 by belts 38, 39, 41 and 40, respectively. The shaft 36 is not a continuously driven shaft, and the belt 39 connecting it with the drive shaft 34 passes from a fast and loose pulley 108 on shaft 34, the shaft 36 bein used to impart m otion to the bait at the beginning of the '45, also passing &

drawing operation and after that being thrown out of operation until it is desired to again start the operation. The shaft 37, connected to the main driving shaft. 34 by way of a shaft 35 and belts 38 and 41, has mounted thereon within the heating chamber '2 (see Fig. 4) sprocket wheels 42, over which sprocket wheels pass a pair of sprocket chains supporting the carrier table 43, the other or' forward end of the said chains passingover sprocket wheels 44 keyed to a shaft transversely through the heating chamber Referring to Figs. 1 and 8, 46 is a sprocket wheel on the exterior end of the shaft 45, over which sprocket wheel passes a sprocket chain 47 also enga ed by a sprocket wheel 49' on the exterior en of the shaft 48 which also passes transversely through the extreme for .ward end of the heating chamber 2. There is another sprocket wheel 67 on the end of shaft 48 which drives the sprocket chain 1 7 hereinbefore referred to as imparting movement to the lateral feed rolls 15, 15

Referring to Fig. 6, 51 is a roll keyed to the shaft 48 in the immediate front end of the heating chamber 2, the front edge of this roll being immediately over a slot or opening 131 (Fig. 4) in the bottom'of said heating chamher, which opening 131 is immediately over the opening 125 heretofore mentioned in the top of the working chamber and immediately over the lateral feed rolls 15, 15.

Referring to Figs. 1, 2 and 6, 5353, 53 53, are four stub shafts projecting out.- ward from the oppositewalls of the heating chamber 2, andi54 is a sprocket wheel inte gral with or fast to a gear wheel 55, both free to turn upon one of the shafts 53, the ear wheel 55gearing in turn withgear whee 56 on a shaft 59 (Figs. 1 and 4) extending transversely through the chamber, 2, and parallel with shaft 66 also extending through the chamber at its forward end. Each shaft takes bearing in the lower ends of the arms 5757, 57'-57, depending from the stub shafts 53. This shaft 59 drives the mechanism for feeding the sheet of glass through the terior end of the shaft 37, the other end of which shaft has a pulley 52 (see Fig. 3) over which the driving belt 41 passes from the shaft 35. The two shafts 66 and Y59 have their ends projecting through the side walls of the chamber 2, slots concentric with the shafts 53 being providedforthis purpose, as

in chamber 2.

will be understood from an inspection ofFig.

1. The ends of these shafts 59 and 66 are connected by rods 69 (see Figs. 1 and 3) to stub shafts 53, for the purpose of raising or lowering said shafts 59, 66, and with them shafts, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1.

/ -Referring to Fig. 5, there will be seen within the conveying chamber 3 a continuous carrier 72 supported on sprocket chains passing over sprockets 76 and 77 carried on shafts 74 and 75 extending transversely through the chamber 3, a driving pulley 73 being onone of the exterior ends of the shaft 74 and connected to the main driving shaft 34 by the belt' 0.

Referring to Figs. 4 and 5 78 indicates the sheet of glass and 79 (see Fig. 5) indicates the point where the glass has been scored or otherwise marked for they purpose of severing the. sheet .129 (Fig. 5) from the main portion. Any suitable apparatus may be employed for imparting the score, as at 79, to the sheet of glass. As herein shown the apparatus more specifically illustrated in Figs. 3, 5', 7,10 and 11 is employed.

On the outward or projectlng'end of the one of which rods there is connected a hand the grips 62 on the chains 61 driven by said shaft 75 which extends transversely throu h the forward end of the chamber 3 for tie driving and supporting of the carrier thereon, isa gear wheel 80 fast on the shaft and meshing with a similar gear 82 running loosely on a spur shaft 81 projecting from the side of the wall of the furnace ,or chamber 3, which gear wheel 82 has fast thereto, and also loosely turning on the shaft 81, a cam wheel 83 of uniform diameter except for a cam notch 83 formed in its periphery, asclearly illustrated in Fig. 10. A second cam wheel 84 having the same diameter as cam wheel 83 is also mounted to turn loosely on the shaft 81, and has fast thereto a gear wheel 85 which meshes with a gear 86 also keyed to the shaft 75. 85 and 86 are such thatthe cam .84 is given but one revolution to several revolutions. of the shaft 75, whereas the relative proportions of the gears "80 and 81 are such that the The relative sizes of the gears cam 83 receives several revolutions for each 1 revolution of the shaft 75. The proportion of the parts is such that the slowly-revolving cam .84 makes one revolution during the time that it takes the sheet of glass to advance the distance included between two of the grips 62, 62, fixed on the feed chains 61' This second and slowly-re' 25 cyli'nder93, and thereby elevate the piston and 84 have their peripheries in contact with the anti-friction roller 87 on the short arm of the lever 89 fulcrumed at 88 (see Fig. 10), the long arm of which lever is provided with a suitable adjustable counterweight 90 tending to depress the long arm of the lever and elevate the short arm carrying the anti-fric tion roller 87 in contact with the two cam wheels, and the roller is thereby held in intimate contact with the surface of the cam wheels and at the proper time is forced into the cam notches 83, 84, on said cam wheels. Adjacent to the long arm of the lever 89 is an ordinary 4-way valve 91, which valve is controlled and operated by a crank arm 91 connected to the long arm of the lever-89 by a suitable link 92. The casing of the 4-way valve 91 is also provided with a pipe 94 leading to a suitable source of compressed air and an orifice or port 95 leading to the atmosphere.

As shown in Figs. 3, 7 and 10, the parts are in position to permit the compressed air to pass via the pipe 94, 4-way valve, and the pipe 94 to the bottom of the compressed air in said cylinder. The top of the cylinder is in communication with the atmosphere by way of the pipe 95 and the port 95. Should the long arm of the lever 89, however, be depressed, the valve 91 will be shifted so as to place the lower end of the cylinder via pipe thereby depressing the piston.

94 and vent port 95 in communication with the atmosphere, and air under pressure would be conducted to the upper part of the cylinder above its piston via pipes 94 and 95, It should be remarked that the two cam disks 83 and 84 are so positioned, and the relative speed of their revolutions is so timed, that the cam notches 83- and 84 thereon exactly coincide or come opposite each other at the-time when the cam notch 84 is immediatelyover the anti-friction roller 87, at which instant the weight 90 will act to suddenly lift the roller 87 into the cam notch, thereby depressing the crank arm 91 of the valve 91 and thus efiecting the introduction of compressed air into the cylinder 93 above the piston, as just described. Instantly, however, the rapid revolution of the cam 83 causes its cam notch to travel beyond the anti-friction roller 87 and it is forced not only out of the notch 83 but out of the notch 84 as well, thereby elevating the weight 90 and restorng the 4-wa valve, 91 to the position shown in Fig. 10 an The piston rod 96 of the cylinder 93 is designed to quickly operate the scorers for effecting the score in the moving and now plastic sheet of glass. This is accomplished y the following mechanism: A 2*armed lever 97 is fulcrumed at 98 and to one arm of the lever is connected a link 99, while to the instantly raising the piston in r the cylinder 93.

other arm is connected a link 100, these two links being in turn respectively connected to levers 101 102 fulcrumed at 106 and 105 and connected between their fulcrum points and i the links 99 and 100 by links 103 and 104 to scorers 132 and 133, shown in Figs. 5 and 7. By reference to these figures it will be seen that the scorers are located immediatel between the chambers 2 and 3 and in a pos1- tion to act upon the glass as it emerges from chamber 2, and is in the act of passing into chamber 3. The quick stroke of the scoring devices, effected as heretofore described, enables the sheet of plastic glass to be scored without interrupting its forward movement.

Referring to Figs. 2, 4 and 6, 107 107 are suitable bearings, mounted preferably upon the top of the rear end of chamber 2, for a shaft 36 carrying a drum 109 upon which are wound two suitable chains or cables 1101 10 having attached thereto a glass-drawing bait 111 of any suitable form or description such, for example, as shown in Figs. 16 and 17, though other forms, if desired, may be employed, one other form being shown in the other drawings. The drum 109 is driven by pulley 112 on the projecting end of its shaft (see Fig. 6) which pulley has a belt 39 passing over it and extending to the fast and loose pulley 108 on the shaft 34. 'When the pulley 108 is adjusted on the shaft 34 so as to connect it thereto, the drum 109 is revolved and when the pulley 108 is thrown out of clutch with the shaft 34, thedrum 109 is stationary.

Formed in one side of the wall of chamber 3 is a slot 113 extending also along through the walls of the flattening oven 4 (see Figs. 5 and 9). This slot 113 is for the purpose of inserting the glass lifting fork 114. This fork 114 is supported by a chain or cable 115 attached to trolley 116 traveling on overhead ways 117 so positioned as to enable the fork to be moved from its position in chamber 3 along the slot 113 into the flattening furnace 4, as will be readily understood by inspecting Fig. 1. WVithin this flattening chamber 4 is the usual or any suitable flattening wheel 118 rovided with any suitable number, usually our flattening stones 119, and having the usual or any suitable fire-box 120 (see Fig. 9). The flattening. furnace 4 is also provided with a suitable opening 121 as shown in Fig. 9, through which a second hfting fork, as 122 (see Fig. 8) may be inserted for handling the glass. The annealing or cooling oven or leer 5 has the usual or any suitable rocker and carrying rods 123 projecting into the s ide of the flattening furnace 4, as usual in such constructions, for the purpose of receiving the flattened sheet and advancing it through the leer in the usual way.

, Referring to Fi 4, 124 is a cover for lacing over the wor ing slot 125, forme between the overhanging lips 1414 above the at the exit end thereof, there islocated working chamber 10, when the apparatus is not in use, vand 126-126 are suitab e burners for imparting the desired amount of heat to the drawn sheet before it is turned from its vertical to its horizontal position across the roller 51. As before mentioned it isimportant, before this turning of the sheet 1s effected, that it should be heated to such a degree. as-to enable it to be readily bent over the roller 51 and yet to be hard enough so as not to mar the finefire finish of the sheet bycontact with said roller. This adjustment of the temperature is effected by the burners 126126.- Additional burners, as 127, are also su plied for regulating the temperature of the mace 2, and atthe exit of the furnace or heating chamber 2 are provided additional burners 128128 on opposite sides of the sheet, as shown, to the end that the glass as it emerges from the heating furnace shall have the required degree of plasticity to enable the scoring devices, which act-immediately after it leaves the heating ,chamber 2, to effect the scoring operation without danger of shattering or breaking the sheet..

129 (Fig. 5) represents asection of the sheet separated therefrom and being elevated on the fork 114 to be advanced from the chamber 3 to the flattening 0ven'4. The chamber 2 is also rovided at its forward end with a suitable oor 130,"and at' the bottom of its forward end with a working slot or opening 131 adjacent to which are the burners 126- 126 heretofore mentioned. At the opposite end of the chamber 2 from the door 130, i.- e., a shaft 134 just above the line of travel of the sheet of glass 78, and on this shaft is an idler roller 135 whose use will presently be described. There is also provided in the fiattening furnace 4 an opening 136 ,throu h which the workman inserts suitable too s,

such as the bass-wood block, for the purpose of perfecting the flattening operation. As the sheet passes from chamber 2 to chamber 3 it is sup orted by roller 137. The temperature of chamber 3 is controlled by suit- 1 able burners as 138 (Fig. 5).

Operation: The mass of glass 9 in the melting or refining furnace 1 having been brought to the proper working condition, the cover 124 having been removed from over the workingslot or opening 125 and the lever 70 having been moved from the full line to the dotted line position shown in 1, so as to elevate the feed det ice out of operative relation with the can" r table 43 in chamber 2, and a suitable bait of a length substantially equal to that of the distance between the lateral feed rolls 15 15 having been attached to the chains 110, a

workman inserts a long rod with a'hook on the end of it through the opening 130 in chamber 2, out through the. rear end of the chamber, and under the idler roll 135,

where another workman attaches the bait-.

to the hooked rod and it is drawn under the idler roll 135 and forward in the chamber 2,

over the roller 51 and allowed tov fall down through the slot 131 in the bottom of said chamber and the working slot or opening 125 between the overhanging lips 1414 of the working chamber 10 and into the mass of the molten glass, where the lateral feed rolls 1515 have been adjusted by the adjusting mechanism operated by hand wheels 24 so as to have them immersed to the desired extent within the mass of molten glass in the working chamber. The driving mechanism for said rolls having been started so as to very slowly revolve them in the direc- P tions indicated by the arrows in Fig. 6, the pulley 108 is thrown into clutch with the drive shaft 34 and the chains, 11011 0 are slowlywound upon the drum 109, thereby elevating the bait and drawing the sheet of glass upward through the working slots or openings, 125 and 131, and between the burners 126126 which have been lighted and the heat of the furnace thereby adjusted so as to produce the desired temperature of the sheet to enable it to be bent over the roller 51 in the chamber 2. As the bait advances it drawsthe sheet over the roller 51, and the carrier 43 having been set in motion, the sheet is pulled along by the bait until the bait itself extends out from I under the idler roller 135. It will be understood that the roller 51, the carrier 43 and the bait 111 are all driven at the same uniform speed during this operation. As the bait emerges from under the idler roller 135 it is detached from the sheet by cracking off, or in any other suitable way, and the chains -being wound or nearly wound upon the drum 109, the pulley 108 is thrown out of clutch with the drive shaft 34 initiate the operation, e., to begin the pulling of another continuous sheet; and

sheet of glass, the leveri70 is-lowered from the dotted line position jof Fig. 1, into that of the full line position of said figure,

thereby bringing the feed grips 6262 upon the feed chains, 61 int) operative engage.

and the bait and its driven drum 109 are no longer used until it is desired to again ment with the sheet of glass, and thenceforth in the operation the feeding or advancing of the sheet of glass is effected by these grips. .These grip bars 62, 62, of course mar the surface of the sheet at-points where they engage the same, but as the parts are so adjusted that the, scorers for scoring the sheets act upon the linesfiwherethe, grips cause the same to shatter or break.

influence of heat from the heating chamber the sheet is the rocking bars 123 of the annealing and to it by unevenness of the walls have engaged the sheets, no substantial I waste results therefrom. The burners with the chamber 2 and at the exit thereof having been lighted, to place the l glass in proper plastic condition for scoring, the scorers operate immediately after the glass passes from the heating chamber 2 and just before it enters the chamber 3, which latter chamber is one having its temperature somewhat lower than that of chamber 2, its office being to prevent the sheet of glass from being chilled too suddenly, which would N evertheless, in chamber 3 the temperature of the glass is slightly lowered, and after the scored section of the sheet is advanced well into the chamber, the workman inserts the lifting, fork 114 through slot 113, as shown in Figs. 1, 5 and 8, and passing it under the scored section, slightly lifts or elevates the free end' of the section, and thereby cracks said sec tion from the main advancing sheet, whereupon the workman moves the fork by means of the trolley 116 forward, and places the section of glass upon the flattening stone 119 in position to, Fig. 9. From position w the sheet of glass is advanced by the intermittent motion of the flattening wheel to position as, where the sheet is brought under the 120, whereupon a workman inserts a suitable flattening tool through the opening 136 and completes the flattening operation, after which the stone 119 moves to position 3 whose tem erature is so much lowered that cooled therein to condition to permit it to be handled, when the sheet advances to position 2 at which point the work man inserts a lifting fork through the opening 121 and, lifting the sheet, places it upon cooling leer by which it is advanced through the leer, at the further end of which it is received by the workmen, and after being washed is cut into suitable sizes for the market. Theglass as it reaches the chamber 3 and is separated into sections 129, as shown in Fig. 8, is in a fairly flattened condition, in the flattening oven it may be passed directly to the cooling or annealing leer, though more satisfactory results are attained and a more perfect article is secured'by passing it through the flattening oven, as described.

In drawing sheet glass one of the great difficulties to overcome is the tendency of waves, frequently of minute character, to develop in the surface of the drawn sheet. We have discovered that one great cause of these objectionable'waves in the sheet is the fact that the surface of the glass in the working pot has the wave like condition imparted of said pot itself. Even when these walls have been l art the wave-like a earance to the surface. P

of the drawn sheet unless means are provided to prevent it. By covering over the working chamber 10, as with the lips 14, 14, the surface of the glass is protected from the cooling effect of the exterior air and the heat of the glass in the furnace 1 serves to heat up the partitions 11, 11, and these and the glass in the pot 10 serve to heat the under side of lips \Vith partitions 11, 11, thus heated to a high temperature, the surface of the glass in the pot in immediate contact with the partitions will be maintained in too fluid a condition to be affected by or receive form from the roughness on the partitions. The reflected heat from the lips 14, 14 also assists in keeping the surface of the glass in the pot 1O in condition to avoid receiving impressions from the roughness on the partition walls.

The glass might be drawn directly from the end of the melting or refining furnace, or different formsof working chambers or pots might be used in connection therewith from that shown in the drawings. The advantage of having the artitions, however, between the main body 9 of the glass in the melting furnace 1, and that in the working chamber or pct 10, lies in the fact that the mass of glass in the working chamber or pot may have its tem erature more accurately adjusted so as to ring it into precisely the condition desired for working.

The detailed construction and operation of the flattening furnace and the annealing and cooling leer has not been herein described, for the reason that such construction is not of our invention, any suitable flat tening furnace or device and any suitable cooling or'annealing chamber or leer being sufhcient.

What is claimed is:

1. The method of making sheet glass, which consists in preparing a mass of molten glass, drawing a continuous sheet of glass therefrom, and during the, drawing operation imparting movement to the surface ortion of the molten mass away from the me toward both edges of the sheet, then heating the sheet to lnsure its plastic condition scoring the plastic sheet to obtain a line of cleavage, then lowering the temperature of the glass and se arating a section of the sheet along the score line. i

2. The method of making sheet glass,

ial line which consists in drawing a continuous sheet then loweringthe temperature of the lass and separating a section of the sheet a ong the scored line.

3; The method of making sheet glass, which consists in drawing upwardly a sheet of glass of uniform width, regulating the temperature, of the sheet so it can be bent to a orizontal position without breakage, then raising the temperature of the sheet to soften it, then scoring the softened sheet to obtain a line of cleavage, then lowering the temperature of the glass and separating a section of tlie'sheet along thescored line. 1

4. The method of making sheet glass, which consists in preparing a mass of molten glass, drawing a continuous sheet of uniform width therefrom, scoring'the drawn sheet when in a plastic condition to obtain lines of cleavage, lowering the temperature of the glass and separating sections of the sheet along the I scored lines.

5. The method of making sheet glass, which consists in preparing a mass of molten glass, drawing a continuous sheet of uniform width therefrom, scoring the drawn sheet when in a plastic condition to obtain lines of cleavage, lowering the temperature of the glass and separating Q sections of the sheet along the scored lines, and annealing the'severed sections.

6. The method of making sheet glass, which consists in preparing a mass of molten glass, drawing a continuous sheet ofuniform width therefrom, scoring the drawn sheet when in a pla stic condition-Ito obtain lines of cleavage, lowering the temperature of the glass and separatingsections of the sheet a along the scored lines, flattening the severed sections, and then annealing the sand.

7. The method of making sheet glass, which consists in preparing a mass of molten glass, drawing a sheet of-glass from said mass, 1m arting an outward movement to said mo ten mass at the oints where the edges of the sheet emerge om said molten mass, whereby a sheet of uniform width is continuously-produced, scoring said sheet when plastic and then separating "a section of the sheet along the scored line. Y

8. The method of making sheet glass; which consists in preparing a mass of molten glass, drawin a sheet of glass from said mass, simultaneous y imparting movement to the surface of said mass adjacent the edges of the sheet as drawn and in o osite directions and away from the medial iine of the sheet, and severing sections from said, sheet while the drawing operation continues.

9. The method of making sheet glass,

which consists in preparing a mass of molten 1 glass, drawin a sheet of glass from said mass, simultaneous y impartingmovementhto the surface of said mass adjacent the edges of the sheet as drawn and in opposite directions and away from the medial line of'the sheet, severing sections fromsaid sheet while the drawing operation continues, and then annealing said sections.

, 10. The method of making sheet glass, which consists in preparing a mass of molten glass, drawing a sheet of glass from said mass, simultaneously imparting movement to the surface'of said mass adjacent the edges of the sheet as drawn and in opposite directions and away from the medial-line of the sheet, severing sections from said sheet while the drawing operation continues, then flattening and then annealing said sections.

11. The method of making sheet glass by a continuous operation, which consists in drawing the glass into a continuous sheet of uniform width, reheating the glass after the cooling incident to the drawing operation, and then separating the continuous sheet into sections.

12. The method of making annealed sheetglass by a continuous operation, which consists in drawing'the glass into a continuous sheet of uniform width, reheating the glass drawing the glass upwardly into a continuous sheet of uniform width, reheating and theredent'to the drawing operation, then bending the sheet of glass from its upwardly extending to a horizontal line of travel, and then flattening and annealing the glass.

15. The method of making sheet glass by a continuous operation, which consists in drawing the glass u wardly in a continuous sheet of uniform wi th, reheating and thereby softening the glass after the cooling inciing toa horizontal line of travel, then se arating the sheet into sections and then attening and annealing the lass.

16. The method of making sheet-glass by glass in a continuous sheet therefrom while simultaneously imparting movement to the after the cooling incident to the drawing op a continuous operation, which consists 1n surface ortioii of the molten mass away from p the me ial line of the sheet towards itsedgea by softening the glass after the cooling incident tothe drawing operation, then bending the sheet of glass from its upwardly extende avcontinuous operation, which consists in preparmg a. mass of molten glass, drawmg the separating the sheet into sections while the drawing operation continues, and then annealing the separated sections.

17. The method of making sheet-glass by a continuous operation, which consists in preparing a mass of molten glass. drawing the glass in a continuous sheet therefrom while simultaneously imparting movement to the surface portion of the molten mass away from the medial line of the sheet towards its edges, separating the sheet into sections while the drawing operation continues, and then flattening and annealing the separated sectioi'is.

The method of making sheet-glass by a continuous operation, which consists in preparing a mass .of molten glass, drawing the glass therefrom in a continuous sheet while the surface portion of said mass is kept moving away from the medial line of said sheet towards its edges, reheating and thereby softening the glass after the cooling incident to the drawing operation, and then separating the sheet into sections.

19. The method of making sheet-glass by a ontinuous operation, which consists in pr paring a mass of molten glass, drawing the' glass therefrom in a continuous sheet while the surface portion of said mass is kept moving away from the medial line of said sheet towards its edges, reheating and thereby softening the glass after the cooling incident to the drawing operation, thcn separating the sheet into sections, and then annealing said sections.

20. The method of making sheet-glass by a continuous operation, which consists in preparing, a mass of molten glass, drawing theglass ,therefrom in a continuous sheet while the surface portion of said mass is kept moving away from the medial line of said sheet towards its edges, reheating and thereby softening the glass after the cooling incident to the drawing operation, then separating the sheet into sections, and then flattening and annealing said sections.

21. In an apparatus for continuously drawing sheet glass, a receptacle containing molten glass, means for drawing a sheet of glass of uniform width therefrom, a heating chamber through which said sheet is drawn, a roller in said chamber over which the sheet is passed and bent at an angle to the plane in which it emerged from the molten mass, a carrier in said chamber on which the sheet rests, a feed device cooperating with said carrier to advance the sheet, a second chamber adjacent to but of lower temperature than the first, and means scoring said sheet before it passes into said second chamber, whereby a line of cleavage is obtained.

22. In a continuous sheet-glass drawing apparatus, a receptacle containing molten glass, means for drawing a sheet of glass of uniform width therefrom in an upward direction, a heating chamber into which said sheet passes as drawn, means in said cha1nher for turning said sheet into a horizontal position, feed mechanism also in said chamber for advancing the sheet, a second or lower temperature chamber adjacent to the heating chamber, and means for scoring the sheet while in a softened or plastic condition due to the heat of the heating chamber.

23. In a continuous sheet-glass drawing apparatus, means for drawing a sheet of glass of uniform width, a continuous sheetadvancing or feed mechanism, means transversely scoring the advancing sheet means securing the softened or plastic condition of the sheet before it reaches said scoring means, and means for separating the scored sections from the drawn sheet.

24, In a continuous sheet-glass draw ng;

means for drawing a sheet of glass of uniform width, means for scoring the sheet at stated intervals, means for softening or rcn dering the sheet plastic before it reaches said scoring means, and means for separating the scored sections from the drawn sheet.

25. in a continuous shed-glass drawing apparatus, a bait and means for operating the same to draw a sheet of glass, sheet-advancing mechanism engaging the sheet on lilies transverse to its length to feed the sheet and continue the drawing operation after the bait is removed, and means maintaining the uniform width of the sheet during the drawing operation.

2 6. In a continuous sheet-glass drawing apparatus, a bait and means for operating the same to draw a sheet of glass, sheet-advancing mechanism to feed the sheet and continue the drawing operation after the bait is removed, revolving means nntintainii'ig the uniform width of the sheet during the draw ing operation, and means separating the drawn sheet into sections.

apparatus, a receptacle containii'ig molten glass, an initiatory sheet (,lrawing device, means imparting lateral movement to the surface portion of the glass in said receptacle away from the medial line of and towards the edges of the sheet being drawn, and sheet-inlvancing means acting to feed the drawn sheet forward after the initiatory drawing device has been separated from said sheet.

28. In a continuous sheet-glass drawing apparatus, an initiatory and a continuous means for drawing a sheet of glass, means for nntintaining said sheet of uniform width as drawn, means for separating the continuous sheet into sections, and means for flattening and annealing said sections.

25). In a continuous sheet-glass drawing apparatus, a receptacle containing molten glass, a pair of revoluble bodies munerscd therein, means for revolving said bodies n 27. 1.11 a continuous sheet-glass drawing apparatus, an initiatory and a continuous Ill) glass in proximity to said revolving bodies,

and means for separating the drawn sheet into sections during the drawing operation.

31. In a continuous sheet-glass drawing apparatus, a receptacle containing molten glass, a pair of revoluble bodies immersed therein, means for revolving said bodies, means for continuously drawing a sheet of glass from said receptacle with its edges in proximity to said revoluble bodies, a scoring device for said sheet, means presenting the sheet in plastic condition to said device, and means separating the scored section from the drawn sheet.

32. In a continuous sheet-glass drawing apparatus, a receptacle for molten glass, a pair of revoluble bodies immersed therein, means for revolving said bodies in opposite directions, means for continuously drawing in an upward direction from said receptacle a sheet of glass with its edges emerging from the molten glass at points adjacent to said revoluble bodiis, a heating chamber into which the sheet is drawn, a roller over which it is bent in said chamber, and means separating said sheet into sections.

33. In a continuous sheet-glass drawing apparatus, a receptacle for molten glass, means for drawing a sheet of glass therefrom, means moving the surface portion of the molten glass away from the sheet toward its edges, and devices for raising and lowering said last-named means within the molten glass.

34. In glass drawing apparatus, a receptacle containing a mass. ofmolten glass, means for drawing a sheet of glass therefrom, a plurality of revolving bodies immersed in the surface of said mass, and means for independently raising and lowering said bodies in the molten glass.

35.In glass drawing, apparatus, a receptacle containing a mass of molten glass, means for drawing a sheet of glass therefrom, a plurality ofrevolving bodies iii]:

mersed" in said mass and having separate driving shafts connected thereto, and means for separately raising and lowering the bearings for said shafts whereby the positions of said bodies in the molten glass may be separately determined.

36. In glass drawing apparatus, a receptacle containing a mass of molten glass,

driving both of said shafts,

means for drawing a sheet of glass therefrom, a plurality of revolving bodies immersed in said mass and having separate driving shafts connected thereto, a worm for bearings for said shafts adjustable around the axis of said worm, and means for ment.

37. In an apparatus glass by a continuouso'peration, a receptacle containing molten glass, a chamber through which the continuous sheetiof glass is passed as drawn, means continuously advancing the sheet theretl'irough, a bait, and means for moving said bait from said receptacle through said chamber at the commencement of the operation.

38. In an apparatus for making sheetglass by a continuous operation, a receptacle containing molten glass, means drawing a continuous sheet of uniform width. there- 'from, a chamber through which the continuous sheet oi' glass is passed as drawn, feed means for continuously advancing the sheet therethrough, and means adjusting said feed means into and out of operative position.

39. In an apparatus for making sheetglass by a continuous operation, a receptacle containing molten glass, a chamber through which the continuous sheet of glass is passed as drawn, an endless carrier moving in said chamber, and continuously moving grip bars engaging the sheet at intervals and advancing it through said chamber.

40. In an apparatus for making sheet glass by a continuousoperation, a receptacle containing molten glass, a chamber through eflecting said adjust for making sheet:

which the continuous sheet of glass is passed as drawn, an endless and continuously moving carrier in said chamber and on which the glass rests, and an endless and continuously moving feed device having grip bars at intervals thereon which act to grip the sheet against said carrier to advance said sheet through said chamber.

41. In an apparatus for making sheet glass taining molten glass, a chamber through whichthe continuous sheet of glass is passed as drawn, an endless and continuously mov-- ing carrier in said chamber and on which the glass rests, an endless and continuously moving feed device having grip bars at intervals thereon which act to grip the sheet against said carrier to advance said sheet through said chamber, and-means for throwing sai feed device into and out of operativerelation with said carrier.

42. In an apparatus for making sheet glass I by a continuous operation, a receptacle containing molten glass, a heating chamber, a horizontal carrier therein, means for drawing a continuous sheet of glass of uniform width from said receptacle in an upward direction into said chamber, and a roller in said chamby a continuous operation, a receptacle con- 

